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Staffordshire Potteries
It is evident that potters were at work in Staffordshire from very early times. Dr Plot, who wrote in 1686, mentions these manufactories, and states that the most important of them was at Burslem.
The abundance of clay and coal would attract the potter to this part of the country, and Mr. Solon says: “Clay and coal might be had by merely scratching the soil.”
In his “Natural History of Staffordshire,” Dr. Plot gives a long and interesting account of “slip decoration,” and he mentions three colors as being used-namely, the orange slip, the white slip, and the red slip.
Some of the earliest productions of this district were the butter pots. In 1661 an Act of Parliament was passed to control the size and weight of these, which, according to Dr. Plot, were made at Burslem, “of a certain size, so as not to weigh above six pounds at most, and yet to contain at least fourteen pounds of butter.” He continues thus: “The butter was before sometimes laid good for a little depth at the top and bad at the bottom, and sometimes set in rolls only touching at the top and standing hollow below at a great distance from the sides of the pot. To prevent these little Moorlandish cheats (than whom no people whatever are esteemed more subtle) the factors keep a surveyor all the summer here, who if he have ground to suspect any of the pots trys them with an instrument of iron made like a cheese taster, only much larger and longer, called an Auger or Butter-boare, with which he makes proof (thrusting it in obliquely) to the bottom of the pot; so that they weigh none (which would be an endless business), or very seldom: nor do they bore it neither when they know their customer to be a constant fair dealer.”
These butter pots, which were of a long cylindrical form, are now very rare, but the common Staffordshire folk still speak of Irish tub butter as “pot butter.” speaking, dice of bread or oatcake. In those counties this beverage was formerly almost, if not quite, universal for supper on Christmas Eve, and the posset-pot was thus used but once a year, and often became an heirloom in the family. A small silver coin and a wedding ring were generally dropped into the posset.” The pot was handed round, each guest taking a spoonful, and hoping to obtain possession of the ring or coin.
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